Grapple



Oct. 6, `A

H. s GORE Filed Jan. 28, 1925 Oct. 6, 1925. l,5 56,l03

H. S. GORE GRAPPLE Filed Jan. 2 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I J 33 E 32 af' zPatented Oct. 6, 1925.

UNITED STATES HARRY s. GDR-E, or

MIDWEST, I WYOMING.

GRAAPPLE.

Application filedlanuary To aZ'Z whom it may camera:

Be it known that I, HARRY S. GORE, a citizen of the United States,residing at Midwest, in the county of Natrona and State of Vyoming, haveinvented certain new and usefulImprovements in Gripples, of which the:following is a specification.

This invention pertains to grapples and by the present design it issought to provide a simple yet rugged grapple intended primarily to beused for removing broken sucker rods from well casings.

It is also contemplated that the invention may be embodied in nun erousforms to adapt it to other analogous uses, among which may be mentionedthe recovery of drill bits, wire line, rope sockets and otheraccessories used in well drilling. For these purposes the device willtake the form ot' a fishing tool. In a modified form of the in-Vention,hereinatter described, the device is made in the form of a spearfor pulling out well casings or recovering parted or lost pipe.

Tools of this general character heretofore devised have numerousshortcomings, principal of which are inability to stand the greatstrains to which they are subjected, complicated constructions resultingin disuse ofthe'tools when once out of repair, and ineficiency ofoperation.

The present invention ;is intended to overcome these objections 'byfurnishing a tool whichis extremely'simple in both Construction andoperation, in which the number of parts is reduced'toa minimum and theparts are all of such Construction that there is small chance ofbreakage.

A further objecu is a" device which maybe readly dismounted andassembled to replace broken or-worn parts.

Referring to the accompanying drawings wherein 'like reference numeralsdesignate thesame parts throughout the several views, there are showntwo practical embodiments of the invention, one, a fishing tool, and theother, a casing spear.

Fig. 1 represents a front elevation of the fishing tool Suspended in awell casing (shown in Section) and about to eng-age the upper end ot' abroken sucker rod;

Fig. 2, a sectonal view of the same tool with the parts in the positionswhich they assume as the tool comes into partial engagement with-thesucker rod;

Fig. `3,21, similar sectonal View, fragmen- 28, 1925. Serial No. 5,277.

tary, of the tool 'in full eng-agement with the sucker-rod and ready tobe elevatcd to c'arry the rod with it;

Fig. 4, a section taken on line 4-& of Fig. 3 looking upwardly, showingthe cross-sectonal shape of the'slips .of the tool at this point andillustrating in dot-and-dash lines the manner inwhich they may beremoved from the fulcrum ring;

Fig. 5, an inside elevational View of one of the slips removed from thetool; and

Fig. 6, a sectonal view of a casing or pipe spear embodying theinvention, the spear being shown in operative engagement 'with thecasing as when the latter is being drawn from the well.

In the drawings, except Fig. 6, l is the well casing in the lowerportion of wnich rests the broken sucker rod 2. 'In order to adapt thepresent tool for recovering sucker rod 2 or other object from the lowerend ot' the casing, it is made up of a seriesof metal slips 3 held inproper assembled relaton to each other and the rest ot' the tool bymeans of a fulcrum ring 4:. 'Three slips 3 are used in the presentConstruction as this has been found to be the most eficient number,although it is to be understood that any number, from two up, may beused if found advisable. Each slip 3 is provided externally With atransverse groove 5 in which a portion of the fulcrum ring 4 rests. Fulcrum ring 4 is of such size as to fit .loosely in the grooves 5 in theslips, so asto permit of the pivotal movement of'the slips 'hereina-fterdescribed& 4

Upon reference to Fig. 4, it will be seen that ea'ch slip 3 is ofsegmental form in horizontal cross-section and of such size as -topermit ittopivot' or swing vertically on fulcr um ring %when assenibledwith the .other slips.

Slips3 areshaped so that when assembled and restingwith their loweredges on a fiat surface,-the lower portion of the tool is practicallycylindrical, while the upper part of the tool, thatis, thepart above`tulcrum ring 4, tapers somewhat inwa-rdly and upwardly. The purpose ofthis will appear later;

'i Interiorly each slip 3 is formed with an nwardly and 'downwardlyinclined surface 6 extending from the upper edge of the slip and mergingat its lower edge with an outwardly and downwardly inclined surface 7.These two `inclined surfaces 6 'and -7 at their juncture forma ridge 8which may be rounded o fi if desired. Projecting between the upperportions of the several slips 3 is a rod 9 having a downwardly andoutwardly flaring enlargement or head 10 formed on the lower endthereof. Rod 9 comprises the means for raising and lowering the tool inthe casing 1.

Slips 3 are also each provided nteriorly with an inwardly projecting,horizontal rib 11 adapted to serve as an abutment for head 10 of rod 9and also to re-enforce the slips at this point, perhaps the greatestpoint, of strain when the tool is being used to lift an object.

The head 10 on rod 9 is adapted to spread open the upper ends of slips 3and to accomplish this it is made suficiently large, so that when thetool is suspencled by rod 9, ridges 8 of the several slips 3 willgravitate into engagement with the inclined surface of the head, therebyrotating each of the slips about fulcrum ring 4 as a center. Thisresults in the lower portions of the slips swinging inwardly until theiredges abut at the lower ends thereof. Tn other words, when the tool isSuspended by rod 9, the parts gravitate so as to cause an expansion ofthe upper part of the tool and a contraction of the lower part thereof,as clearly shown in Fig. l.

The lower edge of each slip 3 is nclined inwardly and upwardly as shownat 12 to facilitate the engagement of the tool with the object to belifted. Above this inclined surface 12 and extending almost to rib ll,the slip is of substantially uniform thickness and on its inner surfaceis formed with a series of transverse serrations 13. These serrationsextend from one edge of the slip to the other and aiford positive meansfor engagement of the tool with the sucker rod or other object 2.

In use, the fishing tool of Figs. 1 to 5, inclusive, is lowered intocasing 1, as shown in Fig. 1, for the purpose of recovering the suckerrod 2. As the tool is lowered from the position of Fig. l, in whichposition the lower end of the tool is contracted, it comes intoengagement with the upper end of sucker rod 2.' If the upper end of rod2 should be located in the casing as shown in Fig. l, that is, centrallythereof, it will pass readily between the lower ends of slips 3 and intothe object-engaging chamber 14 as the tool is lowered, as shown in Fig.3, being aided in this connection by the inclined surfaces 12 on theloweredges of slips 3, as shown in Fig. 2. The size and shape of head 10on rod 9 is such, it will be understood, that, as soon as the downwardmovement of the slips 3 is impeded by their engagement with the suckerrod 2, head 10 will move downwardly out of engagement with the slips 3,thus permitting` sucker rod 2 to pry open the lower end of the tool andenter the gripping chamber 14.

Should sucker rod 2 be disposed in the casing with its upper end closeto the wall of the casing, it may still be engaged by the tool to bringit into the object-engaging chamber 14. As clearly disclosed in Fig. 2,the upper part of the tool, that is, the part above fulcrum ring 4:,tapers upwardly towards the top of the tool. Red 9, by reason of theparticular Construction and arrangement of head 10 and slips 3, isuniversally connected to the tool proper, inclined surfaces 6 on theslips 3 permitting rod 9 and the tool to assume various angular relatonsto each other. These features of Construction, it will be seen, allowthe rod 9 to be manipulated so as to bring the lower edge of the toolinto close engagement with the inner surface of the casing 1 and pry outan object leaning over towards or even against it. `When this has beenaccomplished, the tool is lowered further until the upper end of thesucker rod or other object is well within the object-engaging chamber14. This, as explained, results in more or less of a contracton of theupper portion of the tool depending upon the size of the end of thesucker rod 2. The pivotal action of slips 3 about fulcrum ring 4 may bereadily appreciated upon comparison of their positions shown in Figs.1,2 and 3 taken in order.

As soon as sucker rod 2 is well within chamber 14, rod 9 is elevated byany suit able means, either manually actuated or power driven. Thisresults in head 10 again engaging the inwardly I projecting ridges 8 ofslips 3, the upper portions of slips 3 thus being forced outwardly byreason of the shape of head 10, and the lower portions of slips 3 beingforced inwardly to contract chamber 14: and bring` the serrated faces ofthe slips into firm gripping engagement with the upper portion of suckerrod 2 (see Fig. 3). Practically any desired force may then be exertedupwardly on rod 9 to remove sucker rod 2, the more power used the firmerthe grip of the tool on the sucker rod will become, due to the tendencyof head 10 to expand the upper part of the tool and contract the lowerpart thereof. In practical test-s with a tool of substantially the samesize and construction as that shown in the drawings, the tool hassuccessfully lifted and held suspended a` ton for an hour withoutshowing any effects of the strain.

If for any reason it should be necessary to disassemble the parts of thetool, as for instance to replace a worn slip, this is provided for asshown in Fig. 4. Slips 3, which as stated are segmental in form, are ofsuch a size and such a curvature externally that even when theiradjacent verticaledges are brought together, they cannot be removedupwardly through fulcrum ring` 4. ;Pro-

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Vision is made, however, for removing any one of them downwardly throughring 4 after whichtheothers may be removed =in either direction. This isaccomplished by giving the exteror of each slip at the upper edge of itsgroove 5 a curvature which [will just permit a selected slip to beremoved downwardly through fulcrum ring 4 when the other slips arepositioned so that their adj acent vertical edges are abuttingthroughout their lengths and ring 4 is in close engagement with theinner wall of the groove 5 of these slips. This is shown in dot-anddashlines in Fig. 4. Upon removal of one slip, it is obvious that the othersmay then be removed readily. To reassemble the tool parts, theOperations just described are carried out in the reverse order.

In Fig. 6 the same invention-is shown embodied in a casingspear. In thisfigure the spear is shown in operative or gripping engagement with thecasing 21 which it is desired to pull from the well; noted that theprinciple of operation ofthe slips 22, fulcrum ring 23, rod 24 and itshead 25 is the same as that of the corresponding parts of the fishingtool of Figs. l to 5. Each slip 22 has inner inclined faces 26 and 27forming a ridge 28 for engagement with head 25 on rod 24 and an innerhorizontal rib 29 to limit the downward movement of head 25 within thetool.

The portion of the spear above fulcrum ring 23 is substantiallycylindrical when not in operative engagement with the casing. Theexternal upper portion of each slip 22 above its groove 30 is providedwith serratons 31 for engagement with the interior of the casing. Belowits groove 30, each' slip 22 tapers slightly downwardly to :preventjamming or binding of the spear when being lowered within the casing.The lower end of each slip 22 is inturned to form a segmental fiange 32having an arc-shaped notch on its inner edge. The three arc-shapednotches in slips 22 co-operate to form an annular opening 33 in thelower end of the tool through which extends a grip-releasing member 34.

The body of member 34 tapers gradually upwardly and at its upper end hasa flange 35 which rests on the upper faces of fiange 32 of slips 22 tosupport member 34 in the lower end of the tool. The lower end of member34 is also formed with a flange 36' It will be along theinner-;surface'of the casing, this will only result in the upperportions of slips 22 swinging 'inwardly on fulcrum' ring 23 causing acorresponding ontward swinging movement of the lower portions;thereof.

The lower portions of slip 22 taper'downwardly, however and thus thereis nothing to interfere With ready lowering of the spear within thecasing.

Then the tool has reaohed a desired point in the casing, rod 24 iselevated which immediately' causes the upper portion of the tool toexpand andforce serrations 31 into ends of slips 22. 'This appearsclearly in Fig. 6.

If it is desired, either before or while they are inoperative'engagement, to remove the spear without the casing, this maybe accomplished by first lowering rod 24 and the attached spear untilthe lower end of member 34 comes into` contact ,with the bottom of thewell. This causes member34 tobe forced upwardly betweenslips 22 andspread the lower ends thereof apart by reason of the tapered form of thebody of member 34. As the lower portions of slips 22 vare spread open,fulcrumring 23 causes the upper portions of the slips to move to-.gether radially and release the grip of the.

spear from the casing. -Memberfl34 isretained in its last-mentionedposition by friction and the spear may be removed readily from thecasingby rod 24.

Numerons changes-in the structure illustrated and described may .be madewithout departing from'the spirit of this invention except as it may belimited bytheattached claims.

hat is claimed is:

l. In a grapple, the combination of a plurality of slips each having atransverse groove formed in the eXterior surface thereof; a fulcrum ringloosely mounted in said grooves and serving to maintain said slips inassembled relation; a relatively movable head located between the slipsfor engagement therewith only above the fulcrum ring to swing the upperportion of each of the slips outwardly about said ring as a center, eachof said slips having aportion adapted, upon said swinging movement ofthe slips, to engage an object to be lfted; and suspension means forsaid head.

2. In a grapple, the combination of a plurality of slips; a ring onwhich said slips are pivotally mounted intermediate their extremitiesfor vertical swinging movement of said eXtremities toward and from eachother; movable means located between the slips for spreading apart theupper eX- tremities thereof, said slips each having a portion adapted,upon said spreading apart of the extremities of the slips', to engage anobject to be lifted; and suspension means for said movable means.

3. In a grapple, the combination of a plurality of uprght slips; a ringon which said slips are pivot-ally mounted intermediate theirextremities; relatively movable means located between said slips forcausing eXpanson of the upper portion of the grapple and contraction ofthe lower portion thereof, said slips each being provided with r aportion adapted, upon expansion and contraction of said portions of thegrapple, to engage an object to be lifted; and suspension means for saidrelatively movable means.

4:. A grapple such as is set forth in claim 3, in which the relativelymovable means have a universal connection with the slips.

5. A grapple comprising aplurality of upright slips each having atransverse groove in the exterior surface thereof; a continuous ringsurrounding the slips and loosely mounted in said grooves; suspensionmeans; and means, on the lower end of said suspension means, locatedbetween the slips for engagement therewith to move said slips intoengagement with an object to be lifted, said parts being sopropo-rtioned and arranged as to permit disassembly of the grapple onlyby first removing one of said slips.

6. A tool of the character described comprising a plurality of upright,segmental slips; a ring on which said slips are pivotally mounted forvertical swinging movement towards and from each other; means disposedbetween said slips for engagement therewith to cause said swingingmovement, said slips each having an inner, lower portion adapted, uponsaid swinging movement, to engage an object to be lifted; and

suspension means for said slip-engaging means, the lower portions of theadjacent slips coacting with each other to present an opening betweenthe slips for the entranee of the object to be lifted. 7. In a grapple,the combination of a plurality of upright, segmental slips, each ofwhich has a transverse .groove in its outer surface intermediate itends; a fulcru'm ring surrounding the slips and loosely mounted in saidgrooves, the upper' portion of each of said slips being formed with aninwardly projectng portion on its inner face; and an upright suspensionmember having a downwardly flaring head on its lower end, said headbeing movablyj located between said slips above the fulcrum ring forcoacton with said inwardly projecting portions of the slips to Swing theupper portions of the slips radially outward and the lower portionsthereof radially inward, the lower portions of the slips having portionson their inner faces adapted for gripping engagement with an object tobe lifted.

8. A grapple of the character described comprising a plurality ofupright, segnental slips having transverse grooves in their outer facesintermediate their ends and object-engagng surfaces on their lower,inner faces; a fulcrum ring surrounding the slips and loosely disposedin said grooves to retain the slips in assembled relation; actuatingmeans disposed between said slips and adapted, upon relativelongitudinal movement of said means and the slips, to move said slipsradially away from each other at their upper ends and radally towardseach other at their lower ends; and sus-- pension means for saidactuating means. In testimony whereof I have signed my name to thisspecification.

HARRY S. GORE.

